Leeds United: Wood certain more goals will follow

Phil Hay

Chris Wood claimed his first goal for Leeds United and promised more would follow after the club completed their pre-season schedule with a convincing win over Everton.

Wood sealed a 2-0 victory at Elland Road with a 20-yard strike on Saturday, his first effort since joining Leeds in a £3m move from Leicester City.

The 23-year-old missed parts of pre-season with a hamstring problem and had failed to find the net before the weekend but he capped an impressive individual performance with a goal nine minutes from the end of United’s final summer friendly.

“It’s nice to score but I wasn’t worried because ultimately I know I can score goals in this league,” he said. “I know I can do that come the start of the season.

“As a striker you’re always going to be under pressure and we’ve got a whole squad back at the training ground who are working hard to get the shirts off us.

“There’s competition throughout the squad but it doesn’t bother me who’s scoring as long as we’re winning games.”

United dominated a young Everton side which included Ross Barkley, Steven Naismith and Bryan Oviedo but saw other omissions with the Merseyside club affected by injuries and involved in a testimonial against Villarreal at Goodison Park yesterday.

Head coach Uwe Rosler, however, was pleased by a strong end to a summer which saw United clash with Bundesliga clubs Eintracht Frankfurt and Hoffenheim and he praised Wood’s display in a deserved defeat of Everton.

The striker’s finish – guided over the goalkeeper Joel with the aid of deflection – added to an earlier finish from midfielder Alex Mowatt.

Leeds are now fixing their attention on the first game of the Championship term at home to Burnley this Saturday and Wood said he and United’s were ready for the season to begin.

“It was a good performance by everybody,” the New Zealand international said. “The team played well, we did what we needed to do and we got a positive result.

“I think we’re ready. We’ve progressed well and I’m feeling good, getting there week by week. I missed a few games but I’m in good shape. Everybody’s very excited. We want the season to start.”